Dale Earnhardt Jr. Explains Accidental Repost That Fueled NASCAR Rumor Mill

Dale Earnhardt Jr. recently sparked rumors in the NASCAR community by reposting a 2023 announcement from Trackhouse Racing on X (formerly Twitter). The original post declared Zane Smith as the team's newest hire, though Smith later parted ways with the organization after a short stint with Spire and never actually drove for Trackhouse in the Cup Series.

The repost led fans to believe that something was in the works for Smith to return to Trackhouse Racing. The team is currently looking for a new driver for the 2028 season to replace Connor Zilisch, who recently signed with Hendrick Motorsports for 2028 and beyond. However, Earnhardt revealed that it was simply an honest mistake, as he failed to realize the post was old and assumed Trackhouse had just re-signed Smith, who currently competes for Front Row Motorsports.

Speaking on the "Bless Your 'Hardt" podcast alongside his wife Amy, Earnhardt explained how the mix-up happened after someone else retweeted the three-year-old post. He admitted that while he checked the account handle to verify it was not a parody account, he looked at everything except the date before hitting retweet. It was only an hour later, when Elijah pointed out the age of the post, that Earnhardt realized his error.

Additionally, Earnhardt and others got a kick out of seeing the top comment on the resurfaced post, which was a congratulatory message to Smith from Carson Hocevar. The comment caught attention because the two drivers are currently not on good terms, with Smith having been very open about his disdain for Hocevar in recent months.